UEFA rule bars Arsenal from Inter away draw and Liverpool from hosting Real Madrid again

Arsenal cannot be drawn away at Inter Milan, and Liverpool cannot host Real Madrid at Anfield, in the upcoming 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league-phase draw — the result of a new regulation that prohibits the same fixture at the same venue in three consecutive seasons.

The rule, introduced by UEFA ahead of next season, applies to both clubs because each has faced their respective opponent at the same ground in each of the last two league phases. Arsenal travelled to the San Siro in 2024/25, losing 1-0 to a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty, and returned there in 2025/26, winning 3-1 thanks to a Gabriel Jesus brace and a Viktor Gyokeres goal. Liverpool welcomed Real Madrid to Anfield in 2024/25 and ended an eight-game winless run against the Spanish side with a 2-0 victory, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo on the scoresheet.

The restriction is venue-specific rather than opponent-specific. Arsenal can still be drawn against Inter at the Emirates, and Liverpool can still face Real Madrid at the Bernabéu — only the precise combination of opponent and host ground that has appeared in each of the previous two draws is blocked.

The regulation is one of several rule changes that have accompanied UEFA’s overhaul of its European competitions. From 2024/25, the traditional group stage was replaced by a 36-team league phase using a Swiss Model format. Each club faces eight different opponents — two from each of four seeding pots — with one home and one away fixture from each pairing. The top eight advance directly to the round of 16, teams finishing ninth to 24th enter a play-off round, and those finishing 25th to 36th are eliminated.

Arsenal’s 2025/26 campaign ended in the Champions League final in Budapest, where they were beaten on penalties by Paris Saint-Germain despite going through the league phase with a perfect eight wins from eight. Liverpool’s trajectory heading into the draw will also be shaped by the separate rule preventing English clubs from facing one another before the knockout stages.

The practical effect of the new venue-repetition rule is limited but meaningful for clubs with deep European histories and recurring draw pairings — a reminder that UEFA’s structural changes continue to produce downstream consequences for how fixtures are allocated.